Dawn
by cec123
Summary: Dark: It’s such a small word for something so powerful, so overwhelming, so lonely. Alice's story, from being hunted by James to meeting Carlisle and everything in between. Please read and review!
1. Preface

_This is only short because it is an intro. Future chapters will be longer. This is Alice's POV and it follows her life from being hunted by James to meeting Carlisle and everything in between. PLEASE review—reviews are the only reason I continue to write._

_DISCLAIMER: Anything relating to Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. _

PREFACE 

Dark. It's such a small word for something so powerful, so overwhelming, so lonely.

The first time it happened I was thirteen. I was in the yard with Mercedes, one of my closest friends at the time. We were talking, laughing, and imagining what life would be like after the war ended.

"I'm going to buy so many candies that we'll be sick to our stomachs after eating them all." Mercedes smiled.

But there was a feeling tickling the back of my mind, and I realized that something strange was happening. And I suddenly knew that someone was about to fall out of the tree at the front of our house. Something whispered in a breathless voice "_Cynthia_." I realized it was my own.

"Mary?" Mercedes questioned.

But I was gone, recklessly pushing past the gate that enclosed our backyard. Cynthia was on the ground under the tree, lying on her back. "Mary! Help me—I fell…" Her eyes squinted shut with pain.

But that wasn't my greatest concern. What had happened? How had I known that she would fall? Something weird was happening.

I helped Cynthia to her feet and walked with her inside, Mercedes trailing behind. My father was fighting in the war, and my mother was never home during the day. She was always making calls during the day, wanting to keep up a good reputation for anyone worth any importance.

I wet a rag and wiped it over the scratches covering her arms and legs. "I think you'll be all right. Why don't you go rest in bed for a while?"

"I have to go, Mary, but I'll see you tomorrow at school, right?" Mercedes was frowning. She was probably wondering how I knew that Cynthia had fallen. I would tell her once I figured out what was going on myself.

After Mercedes had left, I took Cynthia upstairs and tucked her in underneath her quilt. I sat on my own bed as I pondered what had happened. And it was while I was wondering if it would happen again soon that a strand of thoughts penetrated the others: _Rain_. _Tomorrow._

Somehow, I was able to know pieces of the future. I couldn't stop smiling. Maybe mother would pay more attention to me, now that I wasn't as boring as she had always thought.

I would tell her as soon as she came home, I decided. It was a horrible mistake to tell.

It's been years—I don't know how many—since the day I told that I was able to see things that would happen. At first, my mother had thought it was a new game. She had been annoyed that I was taking up her time. But I persistently tried to make her believe, predicting things that would soon happen.

Eventually, she had decided I was losing my mind. The day she told me that I would me sent to an asylum was one of the worst of my life. I remember the look of disgust on her face, the pools of tears in Cynthia's eyes, the warmth of the sun overtaking my senses…

I haven't seen light since. Dark is all that I've come to known.


	2. Chapter 1

AN: I'm really sorry it's been so long! School started and I just have not had any time. I hope this is worth the wait (sorry that it isn't any longer than the last one—I just wanted to update)! And thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! They mean the world to me…

Sometimes, I hear voices.

Well, it's really only ever been one voice. A male voice as smooth as glass, and yet I could feel the danger behind it. It came to be the only part of the day I would look forward to. Perhaps I was delusional, after all I was in a mental asylum, but the conversations I had with the voice are what really kept me alive.

I still had visions of the future. Sometimes, something whispered in my ear what would happen. More commonly a few words would interrupt my thoughts.

I told the voice of my visions, and he seemed to find them interesting. Occasionally he asked about my life before, and it shocked me when I realized how much I had forgotten.

Instead I asked about his life. His family had passed away a while ago, and he didn't remember them that well. He had traveled all over the world and regaled me with his stories of places I had never seen.

I pictured the places as he described them and imagined that I was there—out of the dark. It made the time pass a fraction more quickly.

But one day (or night as I never see light) I heard the tone of his voice change. "I'm getting you out of here. It's the only way to keep you alive." I recognized the difference in his tone—it was fear.

"You're being hunted. There is no time for explanations now. After your transformation, I shall reveal everything," he said. The words flowed so quickly it was musical.

I knew I was on the edge of insanity when I heard the vision's voice in my ear. _Alice. Pain. Vampire._

And, of course, that had to be when everything went black.

I didn't wake for a long time. But there was no chance that I would escape the pain. It started in my neck, a burning that was so intense I thought I had died and been thrown into hell. I heard screaming and later realized it was mine.

I felt it force its way slowly through my veins, a fiery torture. There is no way to put the pain into words.

My heart stopped. But I still did not rouse—not for a long time.


	3. Chapter 2

AN: Wow. I guess saying sorry would never cover the fact that I haven't updated in almost a year…! I went through a lapse in writing, where I just had no confidence in my own ability. If you guys still like this, I'm going to try to update very often - whenever I have the time. Please please please! Review!

My eyes cracked open. Even though the clouds blocked the sun from where I was lying, it was too bright. Small droplets melted into my face, and I realized with a start that it had to be rain. _Rain._

I brought myself to a sitting position, and was surprised by my own speed. I took a swift glance around. I couldn't remember how I had gotten in the middle of an empty field. Nothing about my surroundings triggered a memory, either. In fact, the only thing that I could remember about myself was my name: Alice.

A faint scent that lingered in the air had me running before I could stop myself. It was simply mouthwatering, and I had to discover what it was. My throat burned with an ache to taste it. And then a sudden flash of light had me on my knees, my hands pressed against my eyes. It was what I saw that scared me the most.

There were two humans, walking hand in hand. Trees surrounded the dirt path they followed, and somehow I knew that the scent was coming from them. Then I appeared from the shadows of one of the trees, and I attacked.

A small part of me was horrified by what I saw, but a larger part was gleeful – _excited_. I knew that this was what would happen in a few moments time. I didn't have the self-control to do anything about it.

I was running again, almost flying. There they were, just in front of me like my vision had promised.

It was over very quickly. I realized with horror that the ache in the back of my throat was still there, only a little fainter. How many lives would I have to end before it was gone? Was there any way I could change this?

The worst part of it all had been the look of fear on their faces when they say the glint of insanity in my eyes. What was wrong with me?

I knew that the ache – the thirst, really – would come back for me in time. I knew that there was no way to stop it on my own. I knew that I almost wanted the dark back. Almost.

I looked towards the sun, resting on the horizon. The clouds no longer blocked it's light from me. The rain had stopped. The world seemed oddly peaceful, and I felt that I didn't deserve to be part of it.

There had to be others like me. How else would I have come to be this way? I would find them, and I would look for answers.

The light rushed my sight again, but this time I wasn't taken by surprise. Now I was walking into a clearing with a big brick house. There were no other homes in sight. Someone was at my side, and there were three pale forms standing in front of the house.

"Hello Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie," I said with confidence. Their shocked expressions caused me to grin.

"I'm Jasper, and this is Alice," the voice said from beside me. His hand was clenched tightly in mine.

I gasped as I was brought back to reality. This was what I was searching for. "Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie," I murmured. "Jasper."


End file.
